Running Away
by dropthepop
Summary: AU. Naley. They were best friends. She loved him. One day their friendship started to fade, and a betrayal ended everything they once had, but what happens when fate makes their paths cross once again?
1. Broken Promises

**Summary: They were best friend. They did everything together, until the day he joined the basketball team. From that day onward, slowly their friendship started to fade, as his popularity and status took over, until a betrayal the day before she moves ends everything they once had, and cutting all ties in between them. But what happens when fate makes their paths cross once again? Naley.  
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**A/N: Hey everyone, this is my very first story! and as you can all tell, it's a Naley, so please feel free to correct me if i make any mistakes. ****Anyways thanks, and I hope you guys like it! Please tell me what you think and Review!**

**Disclaimer: I do not own one tree hill or any of the characters, except for the storyline.  
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**(2 1/2 years ago) December 2005 (Freshman year of highschool)  
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She walked home all alone.

She shivered slightly as she felt the cool breeze hit her left shoulder, as her mind wandered about. It was dark already, and with the exception of a stray cat that had just ran across the street, there was not a single soul on the road. She passed a black escalade as she approached her house, and she saw the lights on, meaning that her family must be home. Funny how despite her loneliness, she didn't feel like seeing them right now, so instead, she continued walking down the quiet neighbourhood road where she lived in.

She strolled down a few more blocks, until she heard the faint sound of what must have been music. _'Must be another party ' _she thought to herself. As she turned round the corner, the music got louder, and soon enough she realised she was nearing to the house were the party was being held. She could definitely tell it was a high school party by the blaring rap music being played, and also by the fact that this house belonged to one of the wealthiest families in town, and coincidentally to the schools "queen bitch", Rachel Gattina.

She felt a little hurt by the fact that she wasn't exactly number one on people's lists for parties, but then again, she didn't exactly run with this crowd. In fact, with the exception of a few kids she tutored which she had acquainted herself with, and her best friend, she didn't really have anyone else.

However, as she neared the house, she saw as a familiar convertible speed past her and hastily park in front of the house entrance. As she squinted her eyes, she couldn't believe what her eyes saw. Her jaw dropped and she suddenly felt dizzy. Her best friend had just climbed out of the car, with Brooke Davis, also known as the captain cheer sluts, as they held hands and kissed, before entering the party. She just stood there, as she hid behind a near by tree, with tears welling up in her eyes, threatening to spill out. She was hurt, deeply hurt. Her best friend had just lied to her. She had asked him earlier today during their tutoring session if they could hang out, like in the old days, and watch a movie, but he said he couldn't, telling her that he had promised his dad he would have a father-son dinner with him. Despite that funny little feeling she felt deep in her stomach, and her intuition screaming to her that it was all lie, that they were drifting a part, or actually that he was distancing himself from her since he now had new friends and was considered the new 'hot man on campus', she had believed him. Or did she really? Maybe she just wanted to believe something that wasn't real anymore, just for the sake of hanging on to something which meant the world to her. Something which was slowly disappearing as each day passed. Something which she had been naive enough to think was unbreakable. That something was their friendship.

But boy was she wrong. He didn't exactly seem to look guilty about lying to her. In fact, he seemed pretty damn happy as he held that sluts hand and walked into the party. She felt a deep ache in her heart, as slowly her back slowly slid down against the tree, and the tears which had been welling up were now freely flowing. She fell to her knees and sobbed.

No. Wait. What was she doing? No. She wasn't going to cry about this. She wasn't going to waste her tears over some jerk that didn't deserve her as a friend.

But today she was going to tell him something. Something that would probably change their lives forever, which she had just found out a few days ago, and which was going to happen by tomorrow. Something which she deemed a lot more important than going to a party with some slut and getting wasted.

But it was too late now. He had just chosen a new life over her, and she was about to do the same thing to him now.

But maybe he didn't deserve this. What about the previous 7 years of friendship? That must have meant something. No she couldn't do this. She decided she would just go to this house tomorrow before and tell him. After all, she owed him that after 7 years of being best friends. She owed him that…right?

Well he didn't seem to feel he owed anything to her after lying straight to her face. She knew this wasn't the first time he had lied to her when she asked if they could hangout. Lately in school, he avoided her, in the last few weeks however it had gotten worse, to the point where when they passed each other in the corridor and he'd either pretend he didn't see her, or give a brief wave and quickly walk away. And at lunch, he wouldn't go anywhere near their table anymore, leaving her to sit alone, and instead choosing to sit with his new friends. The only time he would talk to her was during their tutoring sessions, and even then, he wasn't as talkative as before. They hadn't hung out in ages, and he never seemed to want to catch a movie, or just hang by the park like they used to. It was almost as if he was ashamed of her, and their friendship.

As she sat at the bottom of the tree, all this thoughts racing through her mind, it suddenly hit her. They were no longer friends. They hadn't been friends in a long time, much less best friends. The day he joined the varsity basketball team, he dropped her like a stick and moved on.

Tonight had finally given her clarity of mind, despite how she was feeling. Tonight had not only made their situation clear, but it had finally confirmed the feelings she had ignored for a very long time. A feeling which would make her heart race and her stomach flutter every time she saw him. Tonight she finally listened to what her heart had been trying to tell her, in more than one way.

Tonight, after seeing him hold hands with Brooke, and walk into the party, she had realised what she had tried to ignore over the past 3 months. And what hurt the most, is that despite the way he had treated her...she still was good to him. In fact, she had still considered him her best friend.

Screw him and everything. She lifted herself up from the floor, wiped the tears off her cheeks. She was stronger that this. She was better than this. After all, she was Haley James, the smartest girl in her grade. She took one long glance at the house, where the music seemed to have quietened down a little, as a few passed out people were being carried out. She looked at her watch, it was 2am. She had just wasted four hours of her life under that tree, crying over something which would soon become something of the past.

As she turned back round, she decided to run home.

She was running away from him. Running away from this house. Running away from all this people. Running away from her feelings. Running away from the betrayal and the hurt.

But most importantly, tomorrow morning, she would be on a plane with her parents and her sister, on her way to the other side of the country, towards a new life, where she swore that she would change everything, and be what the opposite of what she had been here. She was going to find new friends, she was going to find herself, and most importantly, she was never going to let anyone hurt her this way again.

And today, Haley James was running away from her old life. Running away from this town. And running away from Nathan Scott. For good.


	2. Much Too Long Now

**A/N: Thank you so much for all the reviews!! I am really surprised I got that much response and views! Thanks to you guys, I've decided to turn this story from the one-shot it was, into a fic! I've already got half of the story planned, and i'm currently working on planning the rest. Anyways here is chapter 2, so read and enjoy!**

** Edit: I just got a review from Bindy417, and she was confused with the ages, and I agree so thanks for pointing it out! so just to make it clear, the first chapter is set during freshman year of highschool, and this chapter is now set 2.5 years later, during the summer in between Junior and Senior year. Just wanted to clear that up. Oh and I also changed Haley's current bestfriend's name from "Natalie" to "Marie", since I think having her called "Natalie", and her nickname being "Nat" would cause confusion and people would think it's Nathan as "Nate". Sorry for the sudden change with the names, but I guess better now, than later on.  
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**(2 1/2 years later) June 2008 (Summer Junior-Senior Year of Highschool)  
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She hummed a quiet tune, as she stood in front of her bed, staring down at the piles of clothing on her bed, which she had 3 hours left to pack. She was excited about going to NYC, she hadn't been there in ages, and she just loved everything about the city: the vibe, the food, the shopping, and simply the idea of her walking amongst those crowds of people, everyone heading somewhere, unlike her as she wandered about aimlessly, without a care in the world.

"Haley, start packing! We leave in 4 hours honey!".

She cringed as she snapped back out of her thoughts when she heard her mother call from the other side of the hall. She looked around her room. Her life had sure changed from the day she left Tree hill. Her bedroom was no longer a small and cosy room with wooden tiles on the floor, her single bed with bright coloured comforters and blankets, and cute knick knacks on shelves, but instead it had become a large room, with a round king size bed in the middle, with a deep purple comforter matching the lavender plush carpet. She no longer had to share a bathroom with anyone, or stuff her clothes into a small wooden closet and a few cabinets, but she now had her own adjoining bathroom with a bathtub, along with a large walk in closet. In just 2 years the James family had gone from you're average middle class folks, to a rich business family. As soon as they had moved to L.A., her father had managed to work his way up to the top at the law firm in which he worked at, and he was now planning on co-owning a new business with 2 other of his friends, hence the trip to New York.

She looked into the mirror, and she thought to herself how much she had changed over the past 2 years. She was no longer as timid and naive as she had once been, she had grown up, as for her appearance, she hadn't grown much taller, however her long wavy honey blonde locks were long gone, and instead had been replaced with a choppy layered hairstyle which fell just right under shoulders in a chocolate shade.

As she approached her closet, she saw the few items left of her old clothes hung in one corner. Cargo pants, knitted ponchos and t-shirts. She didn't wear those anymore. In fact, part of the transformation she had swore herself to do when she left tree hill included a complete wardrobe change. Sometimes she felt as if that Old Haley was gone, and she had been replaced with another version of herself. It wasn't precisely a bad thing, however sometimes she missed the old times. She'd miss her old house and tree hill, sometimes, just sometimes, she allowed herself to miss Nathan Scott. However those moments had been rare as she never allowed herself to feel that way, yet lately she had constantly caught herself thinking about him.

_"To the left, to the left..Everything you own in the box to the left.."_

She heard as her phone went off to Beyonce's Irreplaceable, immediately knowing who it was, since that ring tone had been the one her best friend had set for herself. She walked over to the nightstand; she flipped her phone open,

"What took you so long to pick up best friend?"

"Hey to you too Marie, how nice of you too answer my call one week after!" replied Haley in an amused tone.

"Heey! It's not my fault their cell phone services aren't good in London! I just got my phone to work yesterday and as soon as I heard you're voicemail I called back and ---" however before she could continue Haley stopped her,

"Marie, relax! It's no big deal, same thing happened to me last year in London remember?"

"Yeah, but that's was like...2 days, not a week..well anyways how is my bff doing?"

"She's just looking at the pile of clothes on her bed, and thinking she has less than 3 hours to pack everything." answered Haley with a tone of dread in her voice,

"You make packing sound like some sort of punishment! I love looking at all my clothes on my bed...it makes me feel...well...accomplished that I have found my one true talent- Shopping!"

"Well, if you love packing so much, why don't you fly over right now and help your best friend in need to pack?" asked Haley as she laughed

"Oh I'd love too, but no thanks, London beats packing your stuff any day!"

"Thanks for the love. So how's England treating you?"

"OOH I love it!! They have great shopping plus I'm legal here already! Oh and did I mention they have really cute guys? " Marie squealed back.

Haley was happy to hear from Marie, since it was their first time since they met that they were spending their entire summer holidays away from each other. Since she first had moved to L.A., Marie had taken her under her wing, and not too long after them both had become best friends, along with the rest of the gang. They meant everything to her; these people had made her feel that she didn't need to hide out like she previously had, and that she too could shine. However, despite this, deep down she knew that the insecure Haley was still there; at times showing when she was at her most vulnerable moments. However unlike herself, Marie was one of the most confident people she had ever met, at times she could be assertive, which reminded her of a certain raven-haired basketball player.

After talking for about an hour, Haley realised that the clothes weren't going to pack themselves, so either she got moving, or she would never be finished on time.

"Marie, it's been great to hear from you..and your..uhh...crazy European experiences, but sadly...I gotta go now...have to start packing!"

"Aww ok, well call me when you get to New York ok? I want details on how your trip goes, and tell me if you meet any hotties on your way!"

Haley laughed at Marie had just said, as she replied, "Marie, you'll never change, will you?"

"You know you love me just the way I am" mocked Marie,

"You're right, I do, however that won't make my clothes pack themselves, so I gotta go, I promise I'll call you when I get to New York, and please this time answer my phone call soon!"

"Heyy, no fair, it wasn't my fault my phone would work! Anyways, have fun packing Hales, take care of yourself, and I'll talk to you soon! Mwah"

"You too Marie! love you loads best friend, and i'll call you soon! bye!"

And with that the phone call had ended. As Haley put her phone down, she turned towards her bed, and saw the entire pile of clothes still intact.

"And now, my favorite part of travelling" she groaned sarcastically to herself as she started picked up a shirt and started folding it.


	3. Heart Shaped Box

**Well here is the 3rd chapter guys! Hope you like it, and please review!  
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_"Money hoes, cars and clothes, that's how all my niggas roll..."_

As T.I.'s 24 blasted loudly through the speakers, there were people everywhere grinding against each other to the beat of the music, red cups filled with alcohol everywhere, some doing keg stands outside, games of beer pong, in some corners you could spot people making out, others were already passed out on the floor, and if you looked around hard enough, you might have been able to see some people who were definitely not drunk, but under other influences. Overall the house bared a smell of alcohol, as the sound of the music boomed against the windows. And Nathan Scott loved it all.

He was the king and he knew it. And this was the end of school-beginning of summer party. As the captain of the ravens, he was in someway expected to throw a summer bash, and as usual his parents were out of town, so he took their beach house and decided to throw a party. It also celebrated their end of junior year, meaning that they were headed towards their final year in high school, senior year; they were now on top of the school, which was definitely another excuse for a party.

He had just finished doing some body shots, as he walked towards the dance floor, and automatically two girls latched themselves onto him, as they started grinding onto him. He had no idea who they were, and honestly he had no interest in finding out, but he was definitely enjoying this, so he'd just dance and let them carry on.

Ever since he had joined the basketball team during freshman year, it had gotten everything he wanted. Everywhere he went he was the town hero, at school no one would dare mess with him, daily he'd have girls fawning over him, and he knew that at the end of every party, he'd have some random girl waiting for him. Also with that came the perks of getting others to do his homework when he was too hung over, or simply the fact that he ruled the school and he knew it.

As he danced, he watched as his equally popular duo, the queen bee, Brooke Davis, danced with his brother, Lucas, whom had just graduated from tree hill high, and was going to start his first year in college at NYU this fall. Her and his brother had started dating around a year ago, and they had been inseparable ever since. Brooke was definitely a character; they had briefly dated during freshman year. However Brooke despite being probably the most popular girl at school, she definitely wasn't a mean as everyone thought she was, she actually had a heart, something that the ex-queen bee Rachel Gattina, whom had been a senior when he was just a freshman, didn't seem to have.

Finally when the song ended, he decided that he didn't want to dance anymore, dancing wasn't really his thing anyways, so instead he took one of the girl's hands he had previously been dancing with, and start to pull her along with him, heading towards the stairs. However the house was completely packed and it was almost impossible to walk through the crowds. When they finally reached their stairs, he took one last glance back, but as he did, something caught his eye, and he felt his heart race.

A girl.

She must have been no taller that 5"4, petite, as she danced, giving her backside to him, her blonde wavy hair falling close to her waist.

No, it couldn't be. No way. Could it?

Just as he was about to walk up to the the girl, she turned while dancing, now around facing him, and he realised that it wasn't her. This girl had oval shaped face, green eyes and seemed to be a little freckly, rather than the girl he thought she was, whom had a heart shaped face, brown eyes and flawless skin.

He suddenly didn't feel too good. It was almost as if a part of him was expecting it to be her. No way she would come back, let alone party at his house after almost 3 years of silence.

"Helloo? I'm still here you know, and I'm sooo bored, so are we like going to go upstairs, or what?" He was snapped out of his thoughts as the girl whom he was dragging to his room tugged on his arm and waved her other hand in front of his face.

"Uhhh...you know what, I'm not feeling too good, so I'm just gonna go lay down for a while, and maybe later ok?"

"Whatever.." the girl replied as she walked back onto the dance floor, leaving Nathan standing at the bottom of the stairs.

He went up to his room, and as he reached his door, he pulled out his key and unlocked the door. All the rooms were left unlocked except for his, because this not only was reserved for him, but he had no desire of walking in and finding two people getting it on, right on his bed. As he stepped in, he made sure to lock the door behind him as he approached his closet, and from the top shelf, he pulled out a small shoebox which was in the corner.

He sat on the floor as he opened it and scattered the items in it. There were a few snapshots of them together, some random gifts and letters she had given over the years, and most importantly, the Cracker Jack bracelet which he had given to her when they were only 11, and had found it back on his doorstep the day she had left.

This was his Haley box. It even said so at the top of the lid, where he had written with a black sharpie marker, "Haley". It may have sounded stupid, but it was the only way he felt that he was still connected to her. He couldn't believe how he had acted. He knew he had let her slip through his fingers, however what he didn't understand is why she had left without saying goodbye? Just the day before she had left, that morning in school she had asked him if they could go to the movies because she had something to tell him, but instead, he had lied to her by telling her he had already promised his dad he'd have dinner with him, when in reality, he was going to a party with Brooke Davis, whom had been his crush at that time. It's not that he had been embarrassed of Haley, but he was finally getting what he wanted, and at times he had felt as if was Haley dragging him down.

However the day she left, the day he had found out she was gone forever, had been the worst day of his life. Not only did he realise that day they mistake he did in treating her the way he had, but he had realised more one thing. That he loved her. And there was nothing he could do about it anymore.

To say that he was angry when he had found out she had left was an understatement. He was fuming about the fact that she had left without any notice, after all, weren't they supposed to be best friends? However as quick as the anger had started, it had died down, finally letting the sadness and regret in. He spent the first year thinking about her everyday, and almost every night he would take out the shoebox and look at the content inside of it. After about a year, she had slowly started to fade more into his memory, and although he would still think of her, it wasn't as frequent, and he hadn't touched the box in a year. But tonight, when he saw that girl with the blonde wavy hair dancing, she had immediately reminded him of Haley. Their backsides looked so much alike, that at first when he saw the girl dancing, he was convinced it was Haley. But it wasn't.

He must have drifted of to sleep, because he suddenly woke up, finding himself on the floor with the shoebox and its items scattered on the floor. It was daytime already, and as he looked to the right, the clock indicated that it was 11am.

"Nathan, we leave in 2 hours, so hurry up and get ready!" he heard his mother as she yelled from the other side of the door. His parents must have gotten back a few hours earlier than what he though. Well of course, he suddenly remembered that they had decided in flying to New York City today so that they could get Lucas settled into college early, as well as have time to enjoy the city.

But what Nathan didn't know, was that this trip wasn't like any other trip, but instead, fate was going to bring him face to face with his heart's biggest desire once again.


	4. Elevator

**A/N: Sorry for the wait, but school has really been tough lately, however I'll try my best to update as regularly as I can! Again, thanks for all the reviews!! This chapter is a little longer than the others, and well I hope you guys like it! Reviews motivate me, so if I happen to get a lot of reviews, I might update sooner, so please review!**

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She was back again in the city. She loved New York, although she had only been once before, she had fallen in love with this place. Oh how she would love to be able to live here, in fact she had thought of applying for colleges here, but despite how much she would like to live in New York, her dream had always been to study at Stanford. She must have been around 8 years old when her family decided to take a look at the universities on the west for her older sister Quinn, and one of their stops had been at Stanford. Since the day she had set foot there, she knew that she was going to go there someday; she just felt that she belonged there. She had worked very hard throughout her high school years so far so that she would hopefully get accepted, and she was not going to give up her life-long dream at this point.

Earlier today her mother had insisted on them going shopping for new outfits for the dinner party they had tonight. To be honest, she absolutely hated those posh business parties, she felt as if she didn't belong there, being surrounded by fake people who all they seemed to care about was who had the most expensive outfit, or the latest gossip in their elite circle. Haley knew her family didn't belong in that circle, and despite them being wealthy, they were no were as near as rich as those people. Sometimes she even felt as if they were looked down upon just for that reason. However business was business and her dad was here to represent his law firm in the sealing of a new partnership with another firm located here in NYC. Despite how much she hated the thought of having to attend tonight, she knew this would really advantage the law firm where her dad worked at back in L.A.

She was suddenly snapped out of her thoughts as she heard her mother, clad in a red cocktail dress while standing in front of the changing room's mirror, ask her; "Haley honey, do you think this look good enough for tonight?"

It was always about being good enough. Why couldn't her mother understand that they were good enough? They didn't need to compete with the others, because to her, their family had always been good enough, even 10 years ago when they were still living in a 3 bedroom home in tree hill with 6 kids.

But then again, she had been obliged to answer with what her mother wanted to hear.

"Yes mom, it looks great! It really flatters you're figure, but this is the 8th dress you try on, so can you please make your choice already and buy the dress?"

"Well someone's getting cranky. What's the matter, I thought you liked shopping?"

She did like shopping. But definitely not with her mother, who usually would take hours to make up her mind on what to take.

"I'm sorry, I just didn't get enough sleep last night, so I'm pretty tired, and I really want to get back to the hotel as soon as possible." She lied.

"Ok, well…fine I guess, I'll take this dress. I promise after this we'll just quickly head to the shoe store downstairs and I'll get the pair I told you I was going to get for tonight, and then we can go straight to the hotel."

"_Oh God, now the shoes?"_ She thought as she inwardly groaned to herself, however as usual she had to plaster a fake smile on her face as she replied,

"Sounds good, thanks Mom."

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"Luke, what the hell, can we just go back to the hotel?"

"Dude, I told you I'm just looking for some new shirt which I need, so shut up and quit whining!"

Lucas didn't seem to be in the best of moods, so just for this time Nathan thought it would be better so kept his mouth shut. He strolled along as he followed Lucas along the crowded shopping mall where they were currently at. He hated malls and he hated shopping, unless it involved getting the newest pair of trainers at adidas or nike, or getting new games for his brand new play station.

Ever since yesterday's event, he had been pretty distracted. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He constantly looked around the mall, as if he expected to suddenly see her somewhere _"She's not here! She isn't in NYC, she lives in L.A., so stop thinking that you'll bump into her!" _he mentally scolded himself, however despite how much he tried to convince himself, he couldn't shake the feeling in the pit of his stomach that they were going to bump into each other.

He had been so caught up with his thoughts, that he didn't notice when Lucas had halted, and he walked right into him.

"What the--? Dude watch where you're going ok?" Lucas snapped angrily as he turned towards Nathan.

"Geez, no need to get so aggressive little brother!"

Lucas didn't reply, but instead just turned back towards the elevator they were facing. Great, now they had to ride some crowded elevator just so that Lucas could get his precious shirt which was 2 floors up.

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As the elevator doors opened, and people walked out of it, Haley and her mom walked in, wanting to get as fast as possible to the ground floor where the shoe store was. However despite it being the faster way since the escalator was way at the other end of the floor and walking over there would take ages, she didn't exactly feel like riding an elevator with 20 other people.

As she moved back a little, she felt her back hit a hard muscular chest. She froze as she felt this. This sensation had immediately brought memories of her past with a certain boy. As she turned around a little to see who it was, she realised it was actually a blond boy with brown eyes, who seemed to be in a trance-like state while listening to some loud music on his ipod. As she turned back round, she thought to herself, "_if only it were him"_

She heard the elevator bell indicated they had stopped, however they still had one more floor to go. She suddenly felt more space as some people started exiting the elevator; however this space was soon replaced by a new crowd walking in. As the elevator doors closed and everyone moved back, she felt someone step on her toe and Haley had to bite her lip to refrain from screaming.

"_Note to self: Never, ever wear flip flops on a Sunday to a mall."_

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"Could this get any more boring?" Nathan thought to himself as they waited for the elevator. However, suddenly something caught the corner of his eye. It was a video game store, and there on the display on the window, they had the newest version of NBA live! He had been looking for it everywhere, and without even meaning to, he had come across it. He immediately took Lucas by the arm and attempted to drag him away from the crowd waiting for the elevator, and towards the video game store.

"Nathan, let go! You're gonna make us miss the elevator!"

"Dude screw that, you see what's there? The newest version of NBA live! You know I've been looking for it everywhere man! I have to get it now!"

Lucas had known how much Nathan wanted that video game. Honestly, he had never gotten the point of video games, instead he would rather spend his time reading a good book, or watching a movie, but for Nathan, despite being THE Nathan Scott, king of tree hill high, when it came to video games, he could act just like a little kid.

"Fine, whatever, but after this we're going to get my shirt."

"yeah ok man..." Nathan replied as he walked off towards the video game store, just as the elevator bell had sounded."_Well, there goes 15 minutes of my life wasted waiting for that elevator"_ Lucas thought to himself as he followed Nathan.

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The elevator bell rang, and the doors opened.

"Finally, out of this stuffy place!" Haley said out loud while exiting the elevator with her mother. Not only did she feel sweaty, but her toe was now killing her.

"This is definitely not my day" she said out loud.

"I'm sorry about that dear, and well as I promised, we can to the shoe store, and then will take a cab back to the hotel. So come on Haley-bub" replied her mother as they walked towards the shoe store.

As they walked along, they passed a video games store, and Haley noticed that they were selling some NBA video game. She briefly stopped for a moment as this suddenly reminded her of that time...

_Flashback:_

_"Haley pleaseee just one more game!" said a 12 year old Nathan as he played some video game against his friend Tim Smith._

_"yeahh Haley, it's fun you know?" Tim added._

_"But I hate video games, I don't get what's so great about them!" replied an annoyed Haley._

_"How could you say that?!? Well maybe that's cos you're a girl, and girls are into weird girly stuff like painting their nails and listening to your pathetic music" an amused Nathan shot back._

_"Hey! I do not listen to pathetic music, and you know girls don't only paint their nails, we do a lot of other stuff too! But you know what, fine, if it makes you happy, I'll wait for you guys to finish one more game, but last one, promise?"_

_"Really? Yay, you rock Hales. Promise it's the last game, after that we can go get some ice-cream" replied an excited Nathan, as he flashed his trademark smirk. That same smirk which not only made her want to slap him at times, but also the one made her feel butterflies in her tummy._

_End of Flashback._

"Haley, what is wrong with you today? You keep on zoning out! Is something wrong?" asked her mother in a worried tone as she interrupted Haley's thoughts.

"I'm fine mom, don't worry, again I'm just a little sleepy, that's all"

"Are you sure dear? Is there anything you want to talk about?"

She wasn't about to spill her heart out to her mother, they did talk regularly, and she knew she could trust her, but she definitely didn't feel like revealing her thoughts to her mother right now.

"Mom, really, I'm fine! I promise!" she replied as they continued walking.

Oh how she missed those days. When everything was simple and life was easy. Those days, before Nathan had morphed from you're regular, sweet boy to an arrogant jerk_. "But I guess times change, and people change..."_ she thought to herself as she sadly just walked on.

However little did Haley know that not only had she just barely missed bumping into Nathan at the elevator's entrance, but also that Nathan was inside that very same video store which she had just stopped outside at a few seconds ago, and that had brought her back that memory.


	5. One In Every Crowd

**Hey everyone, here the newest chapter! I've left a little cliffhanger in the end just to leave you all wanting more! Well I hope you guys like it, but please please review! I'm really grateful for all the reviews people have left, but remember the more reviews I get, the more motivation which means I'd probably update sooner. Anyways, here it is, so read and enjoy:)  
**

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The sound of soft classical music filled the salon, giving the place a sense of importance. Trophy wives walking in their expensive cocktail dresses as they clung to their rich husband's arms; to anyone they could all appear as the picture perfect couples, concealing any signs of problems or distress as they flashed their fraudulent smiles. Everywhere you turned, you could see people mingling, holding fancy alcoholic concoctions of all sorts, as the hired photographers walked around snapping quick shots of all the people for the events sections in newspapers and magazines.

However despite the abundance of the place, this did not impress a certain brunette girl who had just entered the event, walking slowly behind her parents, almost as if she were dreading to go in. She most definitely hated these types of events. They simply weren't her thing. Her family may have managed to climb up the social and corporate ladder over the past few years, and she did enjoy the perks of having more wealth, however despite everything she had still managed to remain true to herself.

She felt completely out of place standing there in the midst of the salon, as her parents walked of to greet a group of older men and their wives. She saw as people walked past her, and some turning along the way to look at her. She knew she looked good. Her hair was down in neat soft curls, as she wore a gold halter-neck, empire waist dress which freely flowed down just below her knees, with a pair of matching strappy gold high heels and a small gold clutch. However despite the elegance of her outfit, she felt uncomfortable in it. This wasn't her. She didn't belong here, not with this people around her. Oh how she wished she could just turn back and return to the hotel room, change into her most comfortable pyjamas while she ate ice-cream and watched re-runs of Friends; however she knew that wasn't going to happen tonight.

As she turned around, she saw her mother signaling for her to come over to meet some people, she inwardly rolled her eyes as she thought, _"Great, again as usual I'll be forced to make some sort of small talk with whatever old pervert we're meeting today as he checks me in front of his wife..". _However she knew better than to contradict her mother in a situation like this, so instead she just plastered a fake smile and headed towards her parents.

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"Well you're a dashing girl Haley! It was a pleasure to meet you!"

"Thank you very much, Mrs. Carlson, it was nice to meet you too" she replied in the most interested and polite tone she could muster up.

After about what seemed like hours, her parents seemed to have had enough of 'The Carlson's' as they exchanged goodbyes and walked away.

However, just as they had finished talking to the Carlson's, in a matter of seconds, she heard her parents name's being called by another couple. Despite the small eye roll she gave, she couldn't help but notice how familiar the voices seem to sound. However right now she didn't feel like meeting anyone, so instead of turning around to see who it was, she discreetly moved into the crowd as her parents walked away towards the couple calling their name. After all, it's not like it would matter if she met them or not.

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Around half an hour has passed, and she felt like an idiot just walking around aimlessly. She could feel her stomach growling, she knew it was probably due to the fact that she had napped all afternoon and skipped lunch.

As she made her way towards the appetizer buffet which had just been set up, she felt a hand grab her arm and spin her round.

"Oh. My. God… Haley James? Do you remember me? It's Ashleyyy, Oh my God I haven't seen you in like...ages!!" squealed a girl as she tightened her grip on Haley's hand.

_Could this get any worst..._ Haley thought to herself as she recognized who it was. With her long, straight platinum blonde hair, a short, green skin-tight strapless stood Ashley Simmons, the single most annoying girl in the planet. She and Haley had met last year at a party of this sort, and since they were both the same age, their parents agreed that it would be good for them to know each other. So Haley had been stuck the entire time with her, as she just blabbed on and on about random pointless stories, one of them being about how this girl had worn the same outfit as her to a party once, and how everyone wanted to be her. She could easily drive anyone insane, and she had succeeded to annoy Haley so much, to the point were seeing her again had made Haley want to scream.

"Oh, Hi Ashley! uhh..yeah it's been ages...how are you?" asked Haley uninterestedly

"I'm like fine...and you??"

"I'm good too, thanks, so uhh…what have you been up to?" Haley asked politely.

"Not much, oh but ohmygod, I'm soo pissed off because yesterday this girl like totally wore……."

'_Blah. Blah. Blah. Here we go again'_ Haley thought to herself, as she looked around while Ashley went on with her story. Her shoes were starting to kill her, so she decided it would be a good idea to see if the could spot a seat where she could rest.

As she scanned the room, Haley saw her parents. They were standing in the exact same spot they had been at half an hour. _'Well, this people must be fairly important for them to talk for so long…I wonder who they are.' _she thought as she managed to see the back of the blonde woman they were talking to along with a man whom she supposed was her husband, whoever she could barely see him as a crowd of people were covering him. As curiosity got the best for her, she tiptoed to get a better view as the crowd covering the man had moved a little. Finally when her gaze fully landed on the couple her parents were talking to, she suddenly felt her entire body freeze, and her jaw drop. She would have expected it to be anyone, but never in a million years would she have imagined it to be them.

Right there, next to her parents, were a couple whom she had once known very well, in fact she had even had dinner and slept over at their home multiple times. That family was…

The Scotts.

Immediately her mind rushed..."_No...no, he can't be here...Nathan can't be here" _she thought to herself as she start looking around the salon, however he was no where to be seen. "_Maybe he didn't come...of course not...Nathan wouldn't come...or would he?..Oh God...I feel sick"_ she thought as she suddenly felt her stomach tighten.

"Helloooo, earth to Haley, are you listening to me??" asked an annoyed Ashley. Haley had forgotten all about her.

"Uhh…Look Ashley, I can't talk right now, I really need the bathroom, so you're gonna have to excuse me." Haley replied, and before Ashley had managed to say anything, Haley had rushed off towards the toilets, leaving a confused and annoyed Ashley standing amongst the crowd.

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_" Haley relax, you haven't seen him at all, plus at least the Nathan you know hates this type of places, and I don't think he's changed his mind,, so why would he be here?"_ she thought as she attempted to calm herself down.

Her legs were shaking, her stomach seemed to be tied up in a knot and she felt like she was going to be sick. She had been this nervous in a long time. She couldn't see him. Not now. He had broken her heart almost 3 years ago, and seeing his parents had brought everything back to her once again. She had once loved this boy, but she had moved on. Had she really? Oh god she didn't even know what she was thinking or feeling anymore. She shouldn't really be caring that much, I mean she no longer had any feelings for him, right? _'He broke your heart Haley, and he's not worth it' _she said to herself as she attempted to calm down '_Plus I bet he isn't here'._

She suddenly felt claustrophobic as if the walls of the bathroom were enclosing on her. _'I need some air'_ she thought to herself as she grabbed her purse and headed towards the bathroom door.

However just as she had exited the bathroom, with her head down, she didn't notice someone exiting the men's restroom which of course just happened to be right in front of the Women's restroom, as she ran straight into their hard chest.

"Oh God, I'm so sorry...I didn't see where I was…-" she trailed off as she finally looked up to see who she had ran into.

_No. Please it couldn't be._

She suddenly felt everything freeze around her as she found her brown eyes looking straight into a pair of blue eyes she hadn't seen in years. She could see in his eyes a look of shock combined with confusion, passion and a trace of sadness all at the same time. A burning sensation running up and down her body as she once again felt those familiar hands on her arms as they supported her. She felt her heart pounding loudly against her chest and her breath get caught in her throat as she quietly gasped. It was almost as if the temperature in the room had suddenly gone up and the ground seemed to be rocking beneath her feet.

After a few seconds she managed to whisper out a name she hadn't called out in years...

"Nathan..." 


	6. Beating Hearts Baby

**Hey Everyone! Sorry for the long wait! I've been really busy lately with school work and with some problems I've been having, but I promised myself that I had to get a chapter up before the end of this week, and well, here it is!  
I also wanted to say that I know the ending of the chapter isn't exactly optimistic, but this is a Naley story, so I promise that they will be seeing each other again very soon, and by that I mean in around 2 chapters.  
So enjoy, and please review!**

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_She suddenly felt everything freeze around her. She found her brown eyes looking straight into a pair of blue eyes she hadn't seen in years. She could see in his eyes a look of shock combined with confusion, passion and a trace of sadness all at the same time. A burning sensation was running up and down her body as he raised her arms slightly, his hands lightly grazing against her arms. She felt her heart pound loudly against her chest and her breath get caught in her throat as she quietly gasped. It was almost as if the temperature in the room had suddenly gone up and the ground seemed to be rocking beneath her feet._

_After a few seconds she managed to whisper out a name she hadn't called out in years..._

_"Nathan..."_

"Haley..?" he whispered just a softly as she had.

To say he was shocked would be an understatement. After all this time, in the least likely of places, he had walked straight into the one person he would have least expected to run into. He felt his heart race, as it pounded against his ribcage and an uneasy feeling in his stomach as he looked into her eyes. The girl who had once been his best friend, his companion, his love, was now standing right in front of him.

She looked beautiful- perhaps even more than before. He realised that she had grown slightly taller, and that long blonde wavy hair of hers was now long gone, and instead had been replaced with brown chunky layered hair which fell right below her shoulders. Her facial features remained the same except for the fact that she had matured, and looked gorgeous in the dress she was wearing.

And of course, those big brown eyes; oh how he had missed looking into them. Whenever he had felt afraid, or threatened, especially during the times his father pressured him with basketball, he knew that all he had to do was to look into that pair of chocolate colored eyes and he would immediately feel a sense of relief, as he saw the care and the warmth those eyes held.

However as he looked into them right now, he could no longer see warmth in them, but instead, they were filled with a mixture of shock and sadness.

He felt as she stiffened up under his grip; clearly she was not comfortable, and after a few moments of shock and silence, she suddenly pulled her arms away from his grip.

"I can't do this..." was all she had managed to choke out before she rushed away, diving deep into the crowd, away from him.

But this time he wouldn't let her get away. He had allowed that once before, and it had cost him dearly, and he sure wasn't about to make the same mistake. _'I have to go after her'_ he thought to himself as he followed in the direction which she had just ran off, and walked straight into the crowd as he desperately looked for her. He had to find her. He was going to get her back.

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She felt as the tears welled up in her eyes, while she desperately tried to seek for a place where she could calm down. The bathroom was not an option anymore since she knew her parents were somewhere near there, and she honestly did not want to bump into her parents or Ashley right now. She needed somewhere to hide out for a while.

As she walked straight ahead, she spotted a red door in the corner. She decided to see if it led anywhere, and as she opened he door, she realised that indeed it lead into a small empty courtyard. Not thinking about it twice, she discretely slipped through the door and closed it behind her, as she sat on the ground of the courtyard, resting her back against the wall.

'_Why now?'_ she thought to herself as she stared up to the night sky. She always did have a feeling that she would see him again, but she never thought it would be this soon. She had always pictured it to be the day she went back to Tree Hill, however fate didn't seem to want to wait that long, and instead decided to put them both in New York at the same time, and at the same event. Despite her shock, something she hadn't failed to notice was how handsome he was. He had always been very attractive; however the years had definitely done him good. He was even more good looking than he had once been, judging by his body it was obvious that he had spent more time at the gym, and he had definitely grown taller, last time she saw him he must have been around 5"7, but now he was probably around 6"2.

She rested her head backwards as she closed her eyes, and in her head she could see the look he had given her just a few minutes ago. She could obviously tell that he was just as shocked as she was, however if she wasn't mistaken, she had managed to spot a mixture of passion and sadness in his gaze. She wondered if maybe, perhaps he felt the same way she had always felt about him.

'_No, No, No. Stop doing this to yourself Haley! There was no nothing in his gaze, he was just as confused and shocked as you were, that's all! There's nothing there, and if he really had ever felt anything for you, he wouldn't have behaved the way he had before you left!'_ she thought to herself as she silently tried to convince herself that there was nothing there.

She inwardly groaned to herself, as she realised how her summer had gone from regular and light, to now complicated and confusing, and as usual it had to do with none other than Nathan Scott.

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He had looked frantically everywhere for her, he even asked the people at the entrance if they had seen her leave, however they all said that she was still inside the party, but the question was, where?

He wasn't going to give up that easily, and just as he thought that, he noticed the narrow red door in of the corner of the salon. Something about it strangely caught his attention, as he decided to see what was behind it. As he opened it, he realised it lead to a small courtyard, and at first he couldn't see anything, but as he squinted his eyes, he managed to spot a little figure at the other side, with her arms wrapped around her legs as her head rested against her knees. It was Haley._'Finally!'_ he thought to himself as he quietly approached her and slid into the hard ground next to her.

He slowly placed his hand on her shoulder, however before he could even react; she violently jerked her shoulder away as she looked up.

"What do you want?" she asked angrily.

Despite the lack of light, he managed to notice that the mascara she was wearing had smudged around her swollen eyes on her tear stained face, which only meant that she had been crying.

"You're crying..." was all he managed to say._ 'Whoa Nathan, what a great way to break the ice with a girl who obviously hates you'_ he thought as he mentally scolded himself.

"No shit Sherlock, even an idiot could have figured that one out."

Nathan could help but flinch at the tone she had replied in. It was so bitter, dripping with poison and hurt. He had never heard Haley sound so bitter before now, and what saddened him the most is that the reason of this anger and hurt in her was because of him. However for some strange reason her reply had also angered him. She wasn't the only one who had gone through a hard time. In fact, she was the one who had just left him behind without any warning, and he had gone through quite a lot as well after she left.

"Do you always reply that bitterly to those who care about you? Or do you just leave them for good one day without any notice" he replied just as coldly as she previously had.

"Don't you dare blame me for anything you little shit…" she whispered menacingly

"You know better than anyone that you were the one who decided it would be better to ditch their lifelong best friend for a bunch of brainless morons who worshipped you only because you could put a fucking ball through a hoop!!" she now screamed back. Not only was she now enraged, but astonished too. She couldn't believe the nerve he had to now turn this against her.

"First of all, it's called basketball, and second there's a reason why I'm now captain of the ravens, it's called talent Haley! What did you expect me to do? And yes, I did gain popularity, but it's not like you fought much to save our friendship, and one thing I never meant to do was to make you feel like I had left you behind for others" replied an annoyed and defensive Nathan.

"No, you didn't just make me feel left behind, you DID leave me behind. Oh, and now you're telling me that I didn't fight for our friendship?- don't you remember when I'd try to talk to you in the hallway, you'd either avoid eye contact with me or walk away before I could say anything?"

"But I didn't--"

"OR the time two of your brand new cheerslut friends decided it would be fun to pick on me for a while, and every time they saw me, they'd scream "loser" and laugh while all YOU ever did was just stand there and pretend you didn't hear them since you didn't want your new friends to see you defending someone like me?"

"Haley I--"

"And of course! The lies you'd make up every time I'd ask if we could hang out. If I remember clearly, on my last day, I was going to tell you everything, I asked you if we could hang, and you said you had some family dinner thing with your dad, when in reality you lied straight to my face so you'd have the night free to go to some party with Brooke Davis and get hammered. Do you remember that Nathan?" said Haley, no longer screaming, but instead of anger, the sadness in her voice was now audible.

"How...how did you know about that party? Why didn't you tell me before that it was your last day, I would have never done what I did if I had known" answered a guilt-ridden Nathan.

"Oh and that makes a difference. What's done is done Nathan, and we clearly both have moved on with our lives, or at least I have." Haley said in a calm yet cold tone.

Nathan was pretty confused at how she had gone from bitter, to furious, to sad and then suddenly to calm in a matter of minutes. The warm and kind Haley was gone, and instead was replaced with a colder version of her. However he knew that deep down, the Old Haley James was still there, but what he wasn't sure was if he would ever be able to feel that kindness towards him ever again.

They were silent for a few more minutes, until he heard as Haley slowly stood up and walked towards the door. Just as she was about to exit the courtyard, he couldn't help but ask…

"What happened to you? You've become so cold."

"This is what happens when someone gets their heart shattered. You happened to me Nathan."

And with that, she swiftly slid through the door and closed it behind her, as she moved on leaving Nathan behind in that courtyard, once again.


End file.
